"More than I can say for you," Evan snarked right back to her. Yeah, he was legitimately trying to turn over a new leaf, but that didn't mean that he was just going to let Leah walk all over him in an argument when it was supposed to be his forte. Words and all that. "Who knows. Maybe you have a little French in you." Were she anyone else, and was Evan not currently involved with someone, that would have been the perfect set up for a terrible pickup line. But as it stood, that line went unsaid. "It would explain why you can bitch and whine with the best of them, too."
Evan's responding scoff was a combination between indignation and amusement. And the amusement shone through by the sole fact that it was half-chuckle. "Besides that, south isn't the way you want to go if you want to escape. North. Fuck Louisiana. I bet it smells like ninety thousand assholes down there." He cringed at the thought. "That and I've sort of noticed that they seem to thrive in the heat. At least the cold and the snow slows them down a little bit." When it came down to it, he knew that she knew why he went off the handle like he did. The thought of the government assholes being free and comfortable in their cushy safehouses while everyone else was treated like slaves or expendable assets didn't sit well with Evan in the slightest. And while maybe he should have suspected them to take the step to a breeding facility someday, it still made him sick to his stomach to think about.
"You're implying that I do fight fair," Evan added with his own wry grin and a point of his index finger. "Sorry to disappoint but you'd be in for a fight." Were circumstances any different, he might have wanted to challenge her to a spar someday.
Maybe he shouldn't have been so suspicious of her kindness, but the two of them were barely allies, not even close to friends. So yes, he was suspicious. But with the suspicion quelled, he realized his error and his expression went as apologetic as he ever expected it to get with Stone of all people. He wouldn't speak an apology, so that would have to do. "No, it's okay. Thank you. I appreciate them."
"If you're sure," Evan responded softly, still apologetic in his tone.
Nodding his head in appreciation of Leah's hacksaw idea, Evan's expression brightened. "I like that idea," he admitted. "It would mean spending an extended period of time in the sewers, but it would definitely be safer than rooftop infiltration, if we're dealing with human enemies here." His thoughts unwittingly echoed Leah's, that he sincerely hoped they weren't.
Evan raised his hands in defense of himself. He knew that Leah knew better than to argue him on that. Evan was unaware of how involved Brandon, Charlie and O'Brien had been in the Ellis attack, but he wouldn't have been terribly surprised if he did know. The only male Stone had never been known for good decision making, after all.
"No, we wouldn't. They lost a lot of good people there." His own voice followed Leah's lead. To anyone who didn't know, this probably looked awkward. Like a hushed and rushed conversation between lovers. Fortunately neither of them had that delusion.